


Letters to Soldiers

by Lady_Layla



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Layla/pseuds/Lady_Layla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy helps out in the Stark Daycare part time. She has an idea for the kids send out care packages and letters to soldiers. She forgets about it after a while and ends up with a date. </p>
<p>Based on a tumblr prompt</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letters to Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragongoddess13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongoddess13/gifts).



> This little ficlet is based on this prompt by Dragongoddess13:
> 
> But basically Darcy is a school teacher for young kids and she enrolled her class in the “Adopt a Soldier” program.
> 
> The kids love it, they send letters and care packages to the soldiers serving over seas and even Darcy does it. They don’t all get answers but Darcy explains that the soldiers are very busy and she knows they appreciate what they did for them even if they can’t write back and tell them.
> 
> What Darcy doesn’t know is that one of the little kids put their favorite toy in their care package with a note about how it always makes them feel safe and protected and they want the soldier to feel that way too.
> 
> A few months later the soldier who received the care package returns home and goes to the school to find the child and return their toy. And that’s how Darcy and whatever person you ship with her meets.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

“Janey, it’s time for all good scientists to take a break from their work to eat lunch!” Darcy calls as she makes her way into the labs. She takes a quick detour to drop a plate off at Bruce’s station and returns his smile.

Jane hasn’t looked up so Darcy just sighs and drops the plate onto the paper sitting in front of her friend which finally causes Jane to look up. “Darcy what are you doing?”

“You need to eat Boss-Lady and I need to go.”

“Go where?”

Darcy sighs again, “Where do I go every Tuesday and Thursday after lunch?”

Jane frowns for a minute taking a bite of the sandwich.

“Down to the staff daycare.” Bruce volunteers from his side of the lab. Darcy turns and points a finger gun at him, “Gold star for Dr. Fluffy.” Now it’s Jane’s turn to sigh and she rolls her eyes for good measure.

“All right, all right I’m eating. Go on and see those little monsters.”

“Jane! They’re not monsters they’re adorable little 5 year olds…and a few 6 year olds who missed the school cutoff date.”

Jane makes shooing motions at Darcy as she moves the plate and returns to her calculations.

Darcy grins at her boss, waves at Bruce, and heads out to the elevator. “Down we go JARVIS!” she chirps as the doors close behind her.

“Of course, Miss Lewis. You seem to be excited today.”

“Oh I am, J-man.  I’ve got a surprise for the little rugrats that will definitely keep them out of Mrs. Watson’s hair for a while. We’re going to be sending letters and packages to a group of deployed soldiers!”

There’s a pause before JARVIS replies, “Miss Potts would like you to reconsider her offer of becoming the daycare teacher.”

Darcy laughs for a minute, “You know if I did that she’d never find another assistant for Stark that could last longer than a month. I’m fine helping out twice a week; I think that’s my kid limit anyway. It’s a great reminder of why I don’t want children anytime soon.”

“Yes, Miss Lewis.” JARVIS says as the doors swish open outside of the Stark Daycare center. Darcy stops by the small closet that is her office on this floor to grab her supplies before heading into the daycare.

Mrs. Watson shoots her a grateful look, apparently some people’s tolerance for children lessens when they get pregnant, and claps her hands together. “Look who’s here kids! It’s Miss Darcy!”

There’s a chorus of shouts and yells as Darcy sets her supplies down and Mrs. Watson slinks out of the room to the lounge across the hall.

“It’s surprise day!” Darcy says amidst the cheers and general screaming from the children around them.

“Today we’re going to write letters to soldiers who are across the ocean protecting our country.” This part isn’t really a surprise as she’d explained the concept of soldiers and care packages last Thursday and answered questions.

“Then, I have your boxes and you get to decorate them however you want!”

There’s another round of cheering as the kids scramble around grabbing art supplies and putting them on the desks.

“Alright now line up and you can pick who you want to write too.”

“Miss Darcy are you going to write a letter too?”

Darcy grins at Annabeth and nods her head, “Of course I am. I can’t let you guys have all the fun.”

The rest of the afternoon is spent with writing letters, to the best of their ability, and the favorite part of decorating the inside of the care boxes. Darcy only has to break up three fights over crayons and one over glitter glue that results in the glitter glue being removed from the room.

When the parents start to show up Darcy hands out a list of acceptable items for care packages that should be brought with the kids on Thursday. After the last child is gone she puts each box on top of  each child’s cubby in the back of the room.

Mrs. Watson comes back to help clean up and helps Darcy collect the letters to take upstairs with her. She heads to the elevator, scans her badge, and returns to the living areas.

After the weird wormhole incidents in New Mexico and London Tony Stark had invited Jane to work for him and move into his Tower, Jane insisted her assistant be included and Tony had agreed.

The residential area isn’t massive, besides Tony and Pepper’s penthouse, but it’s also bigger than anything else in New York and Darcy doesn’t have to pay rent.

She, Bruce, Jane, and Jane’s new boyfriend Thor all share a floor with a huge common area with a kitchen, living room, and dining room.

Jane had met Thor in London, he’d turned out to be a Swedish Prince and had totally fallen in love with Jane and her brain. Ha. Jane brain.

He was working as a liaison between his father, the current King, and Tony who wanted to buy property and build labs in Sweden for whatever Save-the-Planet thing he had going on.

Darcy spends the rest of her afternoon copying all the kid’s letters. She’ll send both copies to the soldiers so they can see the effort the kids made and actually be able to read them.

After that she scans the list quickly looking for the only uncrossed name, right under First Sergeant James B. Barnes is Captain Steven G. Rogers. She writes out her own letter to Captain Rogers thanking him for his service, telling him a little about her, and how happy this project has made the kids.

When she finishes Darcy puts the letters in her room on the desk and heads back up to the labs to pry Jane away from SCIENCE!

Thursday Darcy helps the kids finish decorating their boxes and packing them up. She walks around making sure they don’t try to pack things that could get the package inspected/SI in trouble for sending.

Her own box is mostly full of supplies. She’d spent part of the previous night on a forum talking to current and retired soldiers on what to send and had included most of the practical items listed.

“What are you putting in there Annabeth?” The girl shows Darcy an old, careworn bear and explains that her brother is also soldier and he gave her the bear to help her sleep when he left. Now, she wants her new friend to have the bear so he can sleep while he’s away from home.

The story makes Darcy smile and when she’s finished cleaning up after the kids are gone she takes her box back up to her room. Digging around a box in the back of her closet she finds a bear that she used to sleep with as a kid.

Grinning she adds an extra note to her box, explaining about Annabeth’s bear and how she didn’t want Captain Rogers to be left out so she’s including her own bear.

She ties the note around the bear’s neck, packs it in the box, and begins the task of bringing all the boxes to the mail room to be sent out.

 

Three weeks later the class gets a letter in the mail with a picture of the group of soldiers and their new boxes. Some of the kids get letters back and to those who didn’t Darcy explains that they might not have time to write back.

Then, she announces a field trip as she and Jane will be leaving for a science conference the next week and she wants to take the kids out for a trip. The letters and boxes are quickly forgotten.

* * *

 

Six months later two men make their way into Stark Tower, both in dress uniform, both holding teddy bears.

Darcy has a headache, today’s been rough. She was up until 3 am with Jane who was having another breakthrough, and then JARVIS had alerted her that Jane was back in the labs at 8 am. It took her two hours to pry Jane away from her work and she’d practically shoved her at Thor. She’d gotten to take a short break and eat before coming down to the daycare and the kids had decided today of all days would be the best for them to act out.

She’s just gotten the last child to sit quietly and color when someone knocks on the door. The kids perk up but stay quiet at Darcy’s look as she makes her way over.

“Hi Pat.” She greets the security guard on the other side.

“Miss Lewis.” He nods, “You have visitors.”

She looks at the two men standing behind him wearing visitor’s passes. They’re both in military dress and grinning down at her.

“Miss Lewis. I’m Captain Rogers and this is First Sergeant Barnes. We’ve come to return some things of yours.”

Darcy continues gaping at them for a moment before she snaps her jaw shut and notices the bears. She blushes a bright red and ushers them into the classroom where the kids are staring at them.

“Kid’s it looks like we’ve got some visitors today.”

“BEARY!”

Annabeth leaps from her seat and dashes to the darker haired man who’s holding out a bear to her. He kneels down and hands the little girl her bear.

Darcy chuckles and lets the class ask the men questions for a little while. It’s getting close to pick-up so she shoots off a quick text to JARVIS asking to send Pat back up to escort them back downstairs.

When he gets their Darcy shows them to the door.

“I believe this is yours Miss Lewis.”

She blushes again as Captain Rogers hands her, her own bear with a smirk.

“Thank you Captain.”

“Steve please.”

“Thank you Steve. I’ll admit I’m a little surprised to be getting him back so quickly.”

“Well we didn’t have much time left. Actually Bucky and I are getting out soon. We’re having a ceremony this week and we wanted to see if you and the kids would like to come.”

She briefly wonders what kind of nickname Bucky is but pulls a card out of her pocket, “Here’s my card, email me the details and I’ll see if I can get in touch with the parents. I only work part time and I’m off tomorrow.”

Steve takes her card and then it seems like he and Bucky have an entire conversation in eyebrow movements and facial tics. Darcy crosses her arms to wait and finally Steve turns to her, his hand going to rub the back of his neck.

“I uh…was also wondering if you want to go out to dinner with me sometime?”

Darcy’s surprised and it must show on her face because Bucky chuckles.

“Oh uhm. I don’t know actually, I usually know more about someone before I go out with them.”

“Oh! I forgot, you can ask Natasha Rushman if you need to.”

“Miss Potts’s assistant?”

“Uh yea, she got you the list for our care packages right?  She used to work with us and she’s been trying to set me up for a while. She brought up your name, then I got your package, and the bear, and finally saw how beautiful you are, not that that’s the only thing I like about you, but you’re really---“

He stopped when Bucky elbowed him in the stomach, Darcy tries not to laugh at him. “I’ll talk to Nat and if I like what I hear, well I’m sure she has your number.”

Steve nods his entire face is bright red and finally Darcy lets out a huff of laughter.

“Good, great. Thanks Miss Lewis.”

Bucky rolls his eyes and tugs his friend away to follow the security guard. Darcy’s grinning like crazy until a crash from the room behind her brings her back to the present and she whirls around to see what’s going on now.


End file.
